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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23863246">The Path to Happiness</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenjaemrens/pseuds/Serendipity'>Serendipity (jenjaemrens)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Satisfying Ending, Siblings, This is not an incest fic, canonical miya twins angst, i guess, miya twins being the idiots that they are, the romance is implied but you see it VERY CLEARLY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:41:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,282</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23863246</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenjaemrens/pseuds/Serendipity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He never had constants in his life.<br/>His only constants are his brother and volleyball, and Miya Atsumu is happy with the way his life is.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Miya Atsumu &amp; Miya Osamu, Miya Osamu/Suna Rintarou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>179</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Path to Happiness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Well hello there. This was a rushed work of few hours before sahur and after waking up from my sleep and procrastinating when I have exams in less than a week and i'm an idiot ahaha who can obviously only write when her grades are at stake!<br/>But chapter 391 was up yesterday and I spent a very long time crying over how much I missed the Miya twins and how much I love the bond that they have. So this was a must.<br/>I hope you all enjoy this rushed (and terrible) work that i put out.<br/>As always, my grammar is shit and I apologise for it.<br/>Thank you! Have fun reading! And comments and Kudos are appreciated.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There’s a story that Atsumu’s mother keeps on repeating to them, laughing as she does so every single time. </p><p>It was when they were four. </p><p>Miya Atsumu and Miya Osamu were always together. You would never see one without the other. If Atsumu went right then Osamu would follow. If Osamu went back inside the house instead of playing out then Atsumu would follow. That’s just how they were.</p><p>But they were just like any other siblings. They fought. A lot. And one day it got so terrible that their mother finally had enough. She called their father (something she rarely did unless he was supposed to come over and take the twins with him) and planned something cruel.</p><p>The next morning when Atsumu woke up, he was alone in their room. Osamu’s bed was empty. The volleyball that lay by the foot of Osamu’s bed was gone too along with his favourite plush.</p><p>Those weren’t the only things that were gone. </p><p>The twins’ room had things in sets. The same clothes, the same pairs of shoes, and the same toys.</p><p>Suddenly the other pair was gone. </p><p>It was as if Osamu didn’t exist.</p><p>When Atsumu trudged to the kitchen where his mother was preparing breakfast for them he asked her, “Mom where’s Osamu?”</p><p>His mother had paused her humming and looked at him, “who?”</p><p>“Osamu.”</p><p>“Who?”</p><p>“My twin Osamu. We came together here.”</p><p>“Oh!” his mother clapped her hands together. “You mean our Osamu?”</p><p>Atsumu nodded.</p><p>“Well,” His mother looked at him and shrugged, “you two have been fighting too much so I decided that Atsumu should stay with me while I send Osamu to live with your aunt in Korea.”</p><p>It was after she said that Atsumu became inconsolable. He spent the rest of the day crying and asking his mother to bring Osamu back.</p><p>“But you two fight all the time. This way you don’t have to fight with him anymore and it will just be you and mom. Isn’t that okay?”</p><p>“No! I want Osamu.”</p><p>Atsumu was too young to comprehend that his mother was laughing at him instead of being concerned. </p><p>“I miss Osamu.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Twins should be together.”</p><p>Thankfully, they didn’t keep up the punishment for too long and in a few hours they were reunited. They played and laughed together when they reunited. Yet it’s not like they stopped fighting after that. The twins still remained as they were.</p><p>But Atsumu always remembered those few hours when he was without his twin. It felt weird and unnatural. </p><p>However, by the end of it both of them were sure of one thing.</p><p>Twins should always be together.</p><hr/><p>Growing up Atsumu didn’t have many constant things in his life. His parents separated when they were really young and both were too busy to be around to look after their children. He didn’t have friends with how blunt he was and turns out no one likes a kid with a smart mouth like that.</p><p>His only constant was volleyball and Osamu. His twin and a sport they both loved with all they had. The only time when the twins wouldn’t be bickering was when the ball was up in the air and Osamu would be waiting for Atsumu to set that perfect toss. Because Atsumu was the best and his brother, who knew how he ticked, was the only one who could truly draw out Atsumu’s full potential amongst all the others in their middle school.</p><p>Atsumu didn’t care if his teammates hated him. Well, he did at first but then he realised that it’s really not his fault. Osamu and Atsumu were better than most of them. So it’s really not his fault that he snapped at people for not playing well causing them to stay away from him.</p><p>He never had constants in his life.</p><p>His only constants are his brother and volleyball, and Miya Atsumu is happy with the way his life is.</p><hr/><p>High school was different. </p><p>Atsumu and Osamu were scouted and they joined Inarizaki high school. High school volleyball was tough but fun. So much better and so much more enjoyable. Inarizaki high was one of the best schools for volleyball in the country and Atsumu knew how good the players on the team would be.</p><p>They didn’t disappoint.</p><p>Soon it wasn’t just Osamu who could hit his tosses perfectly but there were more. </p><p>And Atsumu loved it.</p><p>He loved playing with this team. He liked the members too (even Kita-san, though he was scared of him too) and they all shared the same thing. The love for volleyball.</p><p>Atsumu was so sure that Osamu loved this as much as he did.</p><p>They always liked the same thing.</p><p>Then the invitation came.</p><p>He was invited to All-Japan Youth Intensive Training Camp and he was the only one. Not Osamu and him. Just Miya Atsumu.</p><p>Atsumu was mad.</p><p>Osamu should be going with him. Why is he the only one invited? It was ridiculous.</p><p>He expected Osamu would be bitter as well but his brother had merely shrugged.</p><p>“The thing is Atsumu, when it comes to the love of the game...that flame burns a bit brighter in you than me, you know?”</p><p>Atsumu didn’t have a reply for that. To him it was always as if his brother had cherished volleyball as much as he did.</p><p>Atsumu knew that he and Osamu were different as they were similar.</p><p>He didn’t really realise how different they were until this moment.</p><hr/><p>No one knew or understood the twins better than each other. Not even their parents. They knew each other’s likes and dislikes. They needed to only share a glance to see what the other was thinking. No one could get under Osamu’s skin the way Atsumu could and no one could fire up Atsumu like Osamu. </p><p>In a way Atsumu had always thought they’d stick together. </p><p>Osamu loved volleyball just like Atsumu. The entire Japan knew that they both played the best when they were on the court together. It was given that they would definitely receive offers from the same pro team once it was time. They were part of the second best (Atsumu hated that) high school volleyball team in Japan and come Spring Nationals they’d take the title of the best from Itachiyama.</p><p>Then they would continue to keep that title until the twins graduated and left for the pro league.</p><p>But turns out things weren’t so simple.</p><hr/><p>When Osamu told Atsumu that he wouldn’t pursue a career in volleyball he brushed it off as a joke. Osamu said weird things that made no sense at times and this seemed like one of those times. </p><p>Only he wasn’t joking.</p><p>Osamu really was going to quit volleyball after high school to open a business to deal with food.</p><p>To say that Atsumu was mad would be an understatement. He was furious. He didn’t understand why he would feel the need to quit playing volleyball and do something else when this was a path that would guarantee his success?</p><p>Osamu wasn’t pleased with how Atsumu was sulking either. It went on with the twins ignoring each other for almost the entire day until they both burst.</p><p>“That’s great. When you are lying on your deathbed I will look at you and tell you ‘see I was happier than you’!”</p><p>Things went back to how it was as they always do with the twins. They fight, make up and go play again.</p><p>It was the same.</p><p>And yet it wasn’t.</p><hr/><p>Inarizaki went to the Spring Nationals with the confidence that was expected from a powerhouse school like theirs. They were looking forward to winning this year’s title. However, things didn’t go exactly as they thought it would.</p><p>They lost the very first game they played.</p><p>It was the first time Atsumu ever lost a game so quickly. He was honestly quite baffled and things still a bit messy for him.</p><p>What he did know was that they lost, Tobio-kun was now very different, and he wanted to set for Hinata Shoyo.</p><p>He walked into this game thinking that Hinata Shoyo could only jump. Turns out there was something about the guy that made you want to keep on looking at him. Made you want to set for<em> him.  </em></p><p>Before Atsumu leaves the court he points at Shoyo and declares out loudly, “Shoyo-kun one day I will set for you.”</p><p>“But before that I will beat you next year.”</p><p>Atsumu didn’t notice how his brother glanced at Hinata Shoyo and then at Atsumu as if he knew something Atsumu didn’t.</p><p>---</p><p>Karasuno wasn't there next year during the Inter-High. </p><p>Atsumu tries to not show his disappointment.</p><p>With the way Osamu keeps on giving him looks, he doesn’t think he fooled his twin. Atsumu merely scowls at him and mutters curses.</p><p>He just wants to defeat Karasuno that’s it.</p><p>“If that’s what you say.” Osamu had said.</p><p>Atsumu made sure to aim at Osamu’s head during the warm up that day.</p><hr/><p>They came in second.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was somewhere during the preparation for the spring tournament that it hit Atsumu. </p><p>This was the last time he would play with his brother.</p><p>Yes, they would probably play together if the Inarizaki team gathered for reunion but that would be different. Spring Nationals would be the last time Miya Atsumu and Miya Osamu play together as the Miya Twins, the most fearsome siblings in high school volleyball in Japan. </p><p>Losing was not an option.</p><p>He needed to win. And he needed to do this with Osamu because this is the last time they’ll stand on the court as equals. Soon it would be different.</p><p>Atsumu doesn’t know if Osamu is thinking the same as him but whenever Atsumu is done with finishing up his daily extra practice of serving he would see Osamu in another gym with Suna.</p><p>He would stare at his brother practicing to set for Suna or making Suna block him while another setter set for Osamu.</p><p>Atsumu would walk away first, leaving his brother behind there.</p><hr/><p>Atsumu’s final spring nationals ended with Inarizaki winning it while he was the captain. </p><p>The satisfaction and the joy was nothing like he ever felt before. Shouting when the shrill sound of the whistle marked the end, smirking when he shook hands with Sakusa after the game, and smiling proudly when his team received their title.</p><p>They had achieved what they were all hoping for.</p><p>They were the victors.</p><p>Atsumu should be the happiest person on the court today.</p><p>But then, he looks at his brother who is smiling (a rare sight) with Suna, why did winning not feel satisfactory? Why did it feel bittersweet?</p><p>Miya Atsumu had won the Spring Nationals.</p><p>Yet, he had also lost something precious to him on that very same day.</p><hr/><p>There two letters on the two separate desks in the twins’ room.</p><p>On Atsumu’s desk laid one which probably had the invitation to come and play for the pro team after he graduated.</p><p>On Osamu’s desk lay the one for College.</p><p>Atsumu pretended he didn’t notice the second letter and proudly showed off his offers to Osamu. He pretended not to notice as his brother would later open his own letter when he thought Atsumu was sleeping.</p><hr/><p>Moving out of the dorm was weird. This had been their room for three years. The one where they crashed after hours of training, where the first string members would gather and play, where Atsumu and Osamu lived together for three years before they went their own way.</p><p>Atsumu would get two weeks off before he had to move into the apartment that was provided for him by the Black Jackals. It wasn’t necessary for him to live there but until Atsumu could find a place off his own that was where he would stay.</p><p>Osamu would be there longer. He would be there for a month and a half before his college would start.</p><p>Two weeks spent with Atsumu badgering Osamu to cook for him, meeting up with their friends and playing volleyball.</p><p>Then the day came and Atsumu moved out.</p><hr/><p>Living in the assigned apartment was weird.</p><p>Atsumu didn’t know how to do a load of things. He didn’t know how to cook or how to keep his house clean. His housemate was Bokuto Koutaro which means that things were always loud and the man would burst into his room, unannounced and ask him to toss for him.</p><p>His teammates were nice.</p><p>But it was still weird. Unsettling.</p><p>It was hard for him during the first game. Much more than it was during practice. There were times when he would reflexively look to the right as if he would see Osamu standing there waiting for his toss only to see it was Barnes or Bokuto instead. </p><p>Sometimes he would see something stupidly funny and turn left to show that to Osamu but then Osamu wasn’t there and there was Meian shouting at him, telling him off for stopping in the middle of their run.</p><p>Sometimes, loneliness would hit. He wasn’t the same twelve year old boy who smart mouthed people for not being able to hit his toss. He was better now and he had friends. He had Ginjina, Suna, Yuto, Aran and Kita who would talk with him if he wanted to (except for Suna but that was because he was an ass like that and loved to rile Atsumu up for some reason) and his teammates were great. Bokuto was annoying at times but Atsumu was slowly coming to see him as a friend and not just a very loud alarm clock.</p><p>But there was this hollow feeling in his chest that didn’t seem to go no matter what.</p><hr/><p>Later on when he would scroll through his instagram and see his brother post pictures of a new onigiri he cooked, or the piles of assignments that were stacked up on his desk, or the one where he was with Suna (seriously why the hell did those two hangout <em> all the time? </em>) he would understand what that hollow feeling was.</p><p>Twins should be together.</p><p>But the Miya twins had taken their separate ways and Atsumu doesn’t think they would be the same anymore.</p><hr/><p>Atsumu still watched the inter high and spring nationals even after he was no longer part of it. It made him feel grounded. It made him look forward to seeing who would join them next year. He would text paragraph upon paragraph to Osamu in details about the games.</p><p>He didn’t notice that his text about Karasuno was more about Hinata Shoyo than the game itself. Didn’t notice that he was whining to his brother that he wanted to set for that middle blocker and watch him fly to hit the tosses that Atsumu set for him.</p><p>Osamu didn’t say anything about that and merely asked who Karasuno would play against for the Semi-Finals.</p><p>Karasuno didn’t win the Semi Finals.</p><p>That was the last time Miya Atsumu had seen Hinata Shoyo play.</p><hr/><p>It happens slowly but Atsumu starts to get used to it.</p><p>He starts to get used to not having Osamu by his side anymore. He starts to enjoy the game without Osamu. He starts to visit his brother more often and rant to him like he used to when they were younger. </p><p>Osamu has run on ahead without looking back at him.</p><p>It was time Atsumu did the same.</p><hr/><p>When Hinata Shoyo came back to Japan and joined Black Jackals, Atsumu had texted Osamu first, exclaiming how the boy had returned from Rio and would be joining his team. Not as a middle blocker but as a Opposite Hitter.</p><p>Atsumu’s texts to his brother were more about Hinata now than they were about his practice and how his captain was brutal.</p><p>It was Osamu who pointed it out to Atsumu on his feelings for Hinata Shoyo.</p><p>“You sure do like talking about Hinata don’t you?”</p><p>“Well...he is my spiker?”</p><p>“So is Bokuto, Barnes and Sakusa. I don’t think you talk about them half as much as you talk about Hinata.”</p><p>Atsumu hung up the phone feeling conflicted.</p><p>It was only a day later when he realised.</p><hr/><p>When Atsumu realised he was in love with Hinata Shoyo it was his brother he called at first.</p><p>Osamu grumbled how it was late (it was 2 a.m) and that he would block Atsumu’s number but he would still sit up and listen to his brother. Especially when his brother sounded like that.</p><p>“I think I’m in love with Hinata Shouyo.”</p><p>“Took you long enough to realise that. You really are slow aren’t you? I did get all the smart genes.”</p><p>“That isn’t helping me.”</p><p>“It’s not supposed to.”</p><p>“What do I do now?”</p><p>“Well...what do you want to do?”</p><p>Osamu was like that. He didn’t need to say things out directly for Atsumu. Atsumu already knew what he wanted and he would go for it. He just needed to tell someone. He just needed someone to listen to him.</p><p>He just needed his brother to listen to him talk about a boy who could fly and who made him excited to play the game in a way he had never felt before.</p><hr/><p>It was Osamu who commented first on the picture that Atsumu uploaded on instagram. It was a picture of Shoyo with a small plushie that Atsumu had won for him from the claw machine (after almost 20 consecutive tries) and Atsumu with his arms around the boy’s waist.</p><p>Osamu had replied with a simple smirking emoji.</p><p>Atsumu’s reply to him was a second later.</p><p>‘Shut up.’</p><hr/><p>Atsumu should not be surprised that his brother was dating Suna Rintarou. Osamu did weird things. </p><p>However, this was the weirdest thing of all.</p><p>He had stared at the message his brother had sent him that he would be bringing Suna with him to their home for Christmas just like Atsumu was bringing Shoyo.</p><p>He really couldn’t believe it.</p><p>Even when he was home and Suna was standing there wearing a green sweater and looking at Atsumu with faint amusement because of the way Atsumu was gaping at him.</p><p>This was ridiculous.</p><p>“This cannot be real.”</p><p>“Accept it and move on Atsumu.”</p><p>“But...But..WHY HIM?”</p><p>“Tsumu shut up.”</p><hr/><p>One day Atsumu realised that he no longer looked by his side expecting to see his brother. He no longer walked into the kitchen, forgetting that he wasn’t back home at Hyogo expecting that he would see Osamu. </p><p>He didn’t almost call out for Osamu anymore when he was on the court. Rather it was always him calling for Bokuto, Kiyoomi or Shoyo to hit his toss.</p><p>It was a long road but Atsumu was getting there. Slowly but surely.</p><p>His brother and volleyball were no longer the only constants in his life.</p><p>He had teammates who were there to support him when he needed them. Both on the court and off the court as well.</p><p>He had someone who loved him, even when he knew how Atsumu was reckless, rude and snarky. Shoyo loved every bit of him, no matter how horrible it was. It was something else to be loved like that. It made him feel warm and happy and loved.</p><p>Atsumu hoped his brother felt the same way too.</p><hr/><p>Years ago Atsumu and Osamu had challenged each other. The winner would be the one who could prove that he was happier than the other twin.</p><p>Atsumu didn’t know if he was winning.</p><p>But he knew he was happy. He was so, so happy.</p><p>Atsumu hoped Osamu was happy too.</p><p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Notes about this fic:<br/>1) The scene of the twins as children is taken from an actual thing that happened to thw twins (MY CHILDREN) on 'The return of Superman' and I was rewatching it and it hit me...this scene but miya twins! Here's the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxZO3JwOuL0<br/>I hope you all liked my fic!<br/>Talk to me on twitter about Haikyuu and the miya twins!<br/>twt: <a href="https://twitter.com/MlYAHINA">TWITTER</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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